Fes

Fes - Fez

Fes or Fez (Arabic: فاس‎ Arabic pronunciation: [fɛs]) is the second largest city of Morocco, with a population of approximately 1 million (2010). It is the capital of the Fès-Boulemane region.

Fas el Bali is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its medina, the larger of the two medinas of Fes, is believed to be the world's largest contiguous car-free urban area. Al-Qarawiyyin, founded in AD 859, is the oldest continuously functioning madrasa (university) in the world. The city has been called the "Mecca of the West" and the "Athens of Africa".

Fes in the 50s in Video:

Fes is one of the imperial cities in Morocco, It was the capital of Morocco many times throughout history.. also known as the house of  manufacturing location for leather goods.

Some researches refer to the city of fes as the religious capital of Morocco, visitors and tourists can actually sense the strong presence of Mosques in the city. Also because Al-Qarawiyyin is one of the famous Islamic universities in the world.

In the past few years, Fes has become one of the popular tourist destinations in Morocco, especially tourists that are interested in imperial cities and historical places. That's what pushed many non-Moroccans to restore traditional riads (old houses) and transform them into second houses or small hostels in the Fez medina.

One more event that the city of Fes is famous for is the sacred music festival. Founded back in 1994 and held every year for a whole week, the music festival of Fes has been visited by millions and been animated by many famous artist from all over the world.

Fes has its own international Airport "Fes-Saiss", 15km to the south with over 500000 passenger every year.

If you are interested in starting your tour from Fes contact us through our contat page

We offer Morocco tours and excursions from Marrakech, Fes, Casablanca, and Agadir. We will be glad to organize your morocco tour with you.

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Morocco: History (part 1)

Morocco: History (part one)

If you are interested in tours and excurions around imperial cities and historical places you may also be interested in knowing a little bit about the history of morocco

Prehistoric Morocco
In 1971 the fossilised bones of a 400,000 year old early human ancestor was discovered at Sale. In 1991 the bones of several very early Homo sapiens were discovered at Jebel Irhoud that are at least 160,000 years old[1]. In 2007 small perforated sea shell beads were discovered in Taforalt that are 82,000 years old, which makes them the earliest evidence of personal adornment yet found anywhere in the world.

The Capsian culture brought Morocco into the Neolithic about 2001 BC, at a time when the Maghreb was less arid than it is today. The Berber language probably was formed at roughly the same time as agriculture, and was developed by the existing population and adopted the immigrants who arrived later. Modern DNA analysis has confirmed that various populations have contributed to the present-day gene pool of Morocco in addition to the main ethnic group which is the Amazighs/Berbers. A very small percentage of those other populations are Iberians and sub-Saharan Africans.

In Mesolithic ages the geography of Morocco resembled a savanna more than the present day arid landscape. While little is known about Morocco settlement in these early times, excavations elsewhere in the Maghreb suggest an abundance of game and forests that would have been hospitable to Mesolithic hunters and gatherers.

The coastal regions of present-day Morocco shared in an early Neolithic culture that was common to the whole Mediterranean littoral. Archaeological remains point to the domestication of cattle and the cultivation of crops in the region during that period. Eight thousand years ago, south of the great mountain ranges in what is now the Sahara Desert, a vast savanna supported Neolithic hunters and herders whose culture flourished until the region began to desiccate as a result of climatic changes after 4000 BC.

Phoenicians on the coast
Phoenician traders, who had penetrated the western Mediterranean before the 12th century BC, set up depots for salt and ore along the coast and up the rivers of the territory that is now Morocco. The arrival of Phoenicians heralded many centuries of rule by foreign powers for the north of Morocco. Major early substantial settlements of the Phoenicians were at Chellah, Lixus and Mogador, with Mogador being a Phoenician colony as early as the early 6th century BC. Carthage developed commercial relations with the Berber tribes of the interior and paid them an annual tribute to ensure their cooperation in the exploitation of raw materials.

By the 5th century BC, Carthage had extended its hegemony across much of North Africa. By the 2nd century BC, several large, although loosely administered, Berber kingdoms had emerged.

Read Part two here

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